“Yeah,” she breathes.
My other hand cups her angelic face, stroking her cheek with my thumb. I can barely hold back my moan as our kiss deepens, my fingers spearing through her hair as I clutch her to me.
Time practically stops. I stumble back onto a stool before hoisting her onto my lap. Her thighs grip me to hold on, her fingertips tracing around the back of my neck and shoulders.
I inhale her faint moan as she shimmies, grinding against me, just like we'll be doing as soon as we're naked.
Wait.I shouldn’t be thinking like that. We just met yesterday. Yet this craving feels so right, I can’t possibly say no to it.
“Joy," I whisper against her lips. “You're so sexy that you're making me lose my mind.”
She leans back to look deep into my eyes. "Is that a bad thing?"
"I'm just warning you." I squeeze her thigh firmly. "You are literally poking the bear."
Her head falls back as she laughs, then I take her curvy hips in my hands and lift her off my lap. "I'm trying to be responsible. So let's have breakfast, then I'll take you to check on your tent." I hesitate. Should I assume that she wants to keep camping?
Fuck it.
“I’ll be honest here. It’s your vacation, and you should do whatever you like with it. But I'd feel much better if we went to get your gear, and you came back here to stay with me for the rest of the time." I gesture to the floor to ceiling windows across the dining room. “You're still surrounded by the forest. Think of it as camping with modern conveniences like a roof. You’ll be safe and warm, and I won’t have to worry about you."
She grins, gripping the front of my t-shirt. "There you are, getting all chatty again. Did kissing me upset you?”
A grinding sound emanates from my throat. I dip my head to nuzzle along the side of her neck. "Upset? No. Starving for you? Yes."
“Well, starving is a kind of upset,” she giggles. Then her lovely blue eyes meet mine. “I don’t want to be in your way?—”
“You won’t be.”
“Or interrupt your plans?—”
“Don’t have any.”
Joy’s smile makes me wonder how I’ve lived my whole life without it.
“Sure – let’s camp here!”
6
JOY
Who knew that making scrambled egg wraps with a man could be so sexy? But Bear takes every opportunity he gets to caress my shoulder, stroke my hair, and generally get in my space.
I keep waiting for some internal warning bell to go off, reminding me that we just met. But there’s no sirens. No flashing lights. Just green flags at every turn.
Okay, it might be a bit weird that he keeps his phone in the charger and barely glanced at it the two times it’s beeped this morning. It’s maybe a bit strange that in a house this large there are only four plates and bowls. But perhaps Bear never entertains. Or maybe he’s a minimalist.
One thing I know for sure, he’s a loner. Our conversations loop through many topics, and it sounds like he spends most of his time by himself.
We’re driving out to pick up my tent when he asks, “What is your job? Or… You said you bought a house with Carl with the insurance money. Do you mostly live off that?”
I laugh. “No, the insurance was just enough for the house. We both decided to work full time for several years to build up oursavings. Since we’re not paying rent or a mortgage, we might go back to school or something. Carl wants to be a vet.”
“And you?”
I shrug as we pull into the field. “Right now, I do a bunch of stuff online – research, website testing, whatever. But I like working with my hands. Carl said I did a great job of refinishing some of the second-hand furniture we got.”
Bear’s thick eyebrows lift at that, but he doesn’t say anything. He parks, jumps out of the truck, then hurries around to open my door. His thick, burly arms circle me, holding me snugly against his chest as I breathe in his warmth before my feet gently settle onto the ground. I can feel the vibration against my cheek as he rasps, “And this is why I didn’t want you to stay here last night.”
